William
Lea Thompson (August 26, 1928 - November 24, 2013) was the longtime partner of
48 years of businessman Richard
"Dick" Jenrette.Partner Richard Jenrette
Queer Places:
Edgewater, 268 Dock Rd, Barrytown, NY 12507
Roper House,
9 E Battery, Charleston, SC 29401
Millford Plantation, 7320 Milford Plantation Rd, Pinewood, SC 29125
Ayr Mount,
376 Saint Mary's Road, Hillsborough, NC 27278
Cane Garden, Canegarden Cliff, St Croix 00820, USVI
George F.
Baker Houses, 67-69 E 93rd St, New York, NY 10128
1 Sutton Pl, New York, NY 10022
The John V. Gridley House, 37 Charlton St, New York, NY 10014
William
Lea Thompson (August 26, 1928 - November 24, 2013) was the longtime partner of
48 years of businessman Richard
"Dick" Jenrette.
He was born in Curwensville, PA, on August 26, 1928 to Roxie Ann Hess and Francis Ignatius Thompson. He descended from Quakers and adopted this quiet religion in his early twenties. He graduated from Clearfield High School in 1946. He went to the Culinary Institute of America. He traveled extensively and had homes in Charleston, SC, Barrytown, NY, St. Croix, USVI, and New York City. He is the author of two books, "Beginnings" and "Ghostly Poems." He was a great lover of books and beauty and worked in the Preservation and Interior Design fields. He was a founding member and on the board of Classical American Homes Preservation Trust.
In his 48 years with Dick Jenrette, Thompson was involved in the restoration, decoration and landscaping of several important, early 19th-century homes. These included Edgewater, built in 1824 on the Hudson River in northern Dutchess County; Roper House, built in 1838 in Charleston, SC; Millford Plantation, built in 1840 near Columbia, SC; Ayr Mount, built in 1815 in Hillsborough, NC and Cane Garden, built in 1786 in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. In New York City he lived in, and took an active role in restoring, several noteworthy residences including the George F. Baker Houses at 67-69 East 93rd Street, One Sutton Place North and 37 Charlton Street. Thompson was instrumental in helping assemble one of the largest collections of Duncan Phyfe furniture, as well the collections of other early nineteenth-century cabinetmakers. He also played an integral role in identifying and collecting portraits, carpets, curtains, and chandeliers for these houses. He had a keen interest in gardening and landscaping for all of these properties. No small detail escaped him.
Thompson was a founding Director of Classical American Homes Preservation Trust, which either owns or will own most of these properties to open them to the public as house museums. A voracious reader himself, Thompson collected more than 60,000 books, located in the various properties he shared with Dick Jenrette. He wanted each house to have a "proper library." His collecting concentrated in 20th century English and American novels as well as architecture, gardening and landscape. Many of the books are signed by the authors, including Truman Capote and Gore Vidal, who sold Edgewater to Jenrette in 1969.
William L. Thompson died peacefully on November 24, 2013 a,t Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC following an extended illness. His obituary was dictated by Bill Thompson himslef to one of his Swans three nights before his death when it had become evident that he would not survive pulmonary and heart complications. The Swans were his best lady friends and named after Truman Capote's swans. Thompson did not want a memorial service, but asked to be interred at Edgewater, his home in Barrytown, NY.
My published books:p>
